It is a little discouraging to that the older music will eventually phase out.

Yes, there are a bunch of songs they used to play but never play anymore -- not all older than those they now play -- but of styles that began earlier than the styles of music they (for the very much most part) only play now. Here are some examples of songs they sadly never play anymore but used to: "Keep on Dancing" by The Gentrys (1965), "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers (1965), "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" by Mel Carter (1965), "Yes, I'm Ready" by Barbara Mason (1965), "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs (1965), "I Fought the Law" by The Bobby Fuller Four (1966), "Don't Mess with Bill" by The Marvelettes (1966), "Oh How Happy" by The Shades of Blue (1966), "There's a Kind of Hush" by Herman's Hermits (1967), "She's Just My Style" by Gary Lewis & the Playboys (1966), "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" by Dusty Springfield (1966), "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" by The Casinos, and a bunch more...you get the idea. I am huge fan of these types of songs and I find this very upsetting.

Yes, there are a bunch of songs they used to play but never play anymore -- not all older than those they now play -- but of styles that began earlier than the styles of music they (for the very much most part) only play now. Here are some examples of songs they sadly never play anymore but used to: "Keep on Dancing" by The Gentrys (1965), "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers (1965), "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" by Mel Carter (1965), "Yes, I'm Ready" by Barbara Mason (1965), "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs (1965), "I Fought the Law" by The Bobby Fuller Four (1966), "Don't Mess with Bill" by The Marvelettes (1966), "Oh How Happy" by The Shades of Blue (1966), "There's a Kind of Hush" by Herman's Hermits (1967), "She's Just My Style" by Gary Lewis & the Playboys (1966), "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" by Dusty Springfield (1966), "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" by The Casinos (1967), "Nobody But Me" by The Human Beinz (1968), "A Lover's Concerto" by The Toys (1965), and a bunch more...you get the idea. I am huge fan of these types of songs and I find this very upsetting.

Yes, there are a bunch of songs they used to play but never play anymore -- not all older than those they now play -- but of styles that began earlier than the styles of music they (for the very much most part) only play now. Here are some examples of songs they sadly never play anymore but used to: "Keep on Dancing" by The Gentrys (1965), "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers (1965), "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" by Mel Carter (1965), "Yes, I'm Ready" by Barbara Mason (1965), "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs (1965), "I Fought the Law" by The Bobby Fuller Four (1966), "Don't Mess with Bill" by The Marvelettes (1966), "Oh How Happy" by The Shades of Blue (1966), "There's a Kind of Hush" by Herman's Hermits (1967), "She's Just My Style" by Gary Lewis & the Playboys (1966), "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" by Dusty Springfield (1966), "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" by The Casinos (1967), "Nobody But Me" by The Human Beinz (1968), "A Lover's Concerto" by The Toys (1965), "Tell It Like It Is" by Aaron Neville (1967), "Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las (1964), "Last Kiss" by J. Frank Wilson & the Cavaliers (1964) and a bunch more...you get the idea. I am huge fan of these types of songs and I find this very upsetting.

I almost never hear ANY 50's songs on the radio anymore. In the earlier '90s I did, but maybe they're deemed irrelevant after 40 years. :(

That would (sadly) stand to reason, because I think the furthest back they'll go is the Beatles. They sort of ushered in the "60s" '60s, and I've never heard any songs before 1964 in recent years.

On the other end of the rope, I do feel very old when Huey Lewis, Lionel Richie and solo John Fogerty (i.e. from the '80s) are considered "oldies". ;)

It is a little discouraging to that the older music will eventually phase out.

I know. :-[ KRTH-FM in Los Angeles (101.1) seems to be playing a lot of post-1969 music now. :-\\

Yes, there are a bunch of songs they used to play but never play anymore -- not all older than those they now play -- but of styles that began earlier than the styles of music they (for the very much most part) only play now. Here are some examples of songs they sadly never play anymore but used to: "Keep on Dancing" by The Gentrys (1965), "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers (1965), "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" by Mel Carter (1965), "Yes, I'm Ready" by Barbara Mason (1965), "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs (1965), "I Fought the Law" by The Bobby Fuller Four (1966), "Don't Mess with Bill" by The Marvelettes (1966), "Oh How Happy" by The Shades of Blue (1966), "There's a Kind of Hush" by Herman's Hermits (1967), "She's Just My Style" by Gary Lewis & the Playboys (1966), "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" by Dusty Springfield (1966), "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" by The Casinos (1967), "Nobody But Me" by The Human Beinz (1968), "A Lover's Concerto" by The Toys (1965), "Tell It Like It Is" by Aaron Neville (1967), "Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las (1964), "Last Kiss" by J. Frank Wilson & the Cavaliers (1964) and a bunch more...you get the idea. I am huge fan of these types of songs and I find this very upsetting.

Yes, there are a bunch of songs they used to play but never play anymore -- not all older than those they now play -- but of styles that began earlier than the styles of music they (for the very much most part) only play now. Here are some examples of songs they sadly never play anymore but used to: "Keep on Dancing" by The Gentrys (1965), "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers (1965), "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" by Mel Carter (1965), "Yes, I'm Ready" by Barbara Mason (1965), "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs (1965), "I Fought the Law" by The Bobby Fuller Four (1966), "Don't Mess with Bill" by The Marvelettes (1966), "Oh How Happy" by The Shades of Blue (1966), "There's a Kind of Hush" by Herman's Hermits (1967), "She's Just My Style" by Gary Lewis & the Playboys (1966), "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" by Dusty Springfield (1966), "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" by The Casinos (1967), "Nobody But Me" by The Human Beinz (1968), "A Lover's Concerto" by The Toys (1965), "Tell It Like It Is" by Aaron Neville (1967), "Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las (1964), "Last Kiss" by J. Frank Wilson & the Cavaliers (1964) and a bunch more...you get the idea. I am huge fan of these types of songs and I find this very upsetting.
We heard you the first time. (j/k)  ;D

Sometimes, when I'd get tired of listening of FM radio (it can get quite repetitive), I'd flip over to the AM dial and listen to the OLD oldies station, where they'd play songs from the 40's and 50's by artists like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat "King" Cole, Tony Bennett, and other acts from the swing era. And I found it to be quite refreshing. A lot of these songs that were 40 and 50 years old were brand-new to me, and I came to appreciate a lot of the music that my parents listened to. Sadly, the last "grandpa" oldies station in Omaha (I haven't found a station like this down in K.C. yet) switched over to an all-sports format about a year ago. AM radio was the last bastion of this style of music, and music stations on that side of the dial are pretty much extinct now, replaced by sports talk and conservative talk radio. Which is too bad, because there is so much great music from that era that younger people will probably never discover now.
  I too have noticed a shift away from pre-'69 music on FM oldies stations.  It seems like they're now moving towards an "adult contemporary" format (and it seems that lately a lot of FM stations in general have been messing around with their formats).  My own guess why this is, is that because of the rise in satellite radio, the conventional radio industry is getting desperate, and they think that by shifting formats, they might generate new interest in their stations.
  If you are truly sick of the state of American terrestrial radio today and feel, as I do, that it's gone to hell in a handbasket, then vote with your wallet. Get a satellite radio. All of the music that you know and love is alive and well there, plus you can discover all kinds of music that is new to you as well. You can get a decent unit for under $100 now, and if you can afford to be on the Internet than you can afford the monthly fee. It's the audio equivalent of going from the Big Three TV networks to digital cable, and I guarantee you'll love it.

We have two oldies stations here.  One still plays 50's and 60's hits as well as 70's hits.  The other station only plays hits from the golden era (30's and 40's)

There's an oldies station in Ventura County that we listen to (KVEN, AM 1450) that plays a lot of classic oldies. They also play some early 70's stuff; the other night I heard Don McLean's "American Pie." ::)

In the '80s, "my" station played basically 50s/60s, w/occasional early '70s.

In the last decade or so, they really dropped off the '50s.  It became basically '60s/70s and in the last year (gulp) an occasional '80s!

But now, they're finally defunct.  So now we officially have no oldies station.  (I knew this would happen years ago when they hopped from their old frequency on the dial to a new 1 exactly 3 MHz down.  It was always 105.7, and why they changed to 102.7 was a mystery.)

I rely mostly on satellite TV (now they've changed to XM radio) and my limited collections.

Sadly I come from the land where the legendary 101.1 CBS-FM went off the air and they put Jack-FM in its place.
I miss that station sooo much..
luckily I found "the breeze" out of New Jersey. Plays great hits from the 70s..their promo says "it's like someone took your record collection and put it on the radio" and they are RIGHT!!

Sadly I come from the land where the legendary 101.1 CBS-FM went off the air and they put Jack-FM in its place.
I miss that station sooo much..
luckily I found "the breeze" out of New Jersey. Plays great hits from the 70s..their promo says "it's like someone took your record collection and put it on the radio" and they are RIGHT!!


I remember 101.1! :)


Yes our oldies station KFRC has pretty much abandoned doo-wop and motown in favor of 70's & 80's.  I emailed them a complaint just after they changed it.

100.1 FM here in Georgia (pretty much only serves North Georgia) plays mostly the 50s and 60s.  The one station I loved that got phased out was Cool 105.7, and they played mostly 50s-70s, but not a lot of 70s and just the soft rock stuff, like Bread and The Carpenters.

WMID-AM 1340 plays oldies from the 50's and early 60's, while WTKU "Cool 98.3" plays stuff from the mid 60's and 70's...

and we can sometimes get WOGL Oldies 98 FM out of Philly on a clear night....

link to WMID with live webcasting....http://www.classicoldieswmid.com/

and a link to Cool 98.3...http://www.kool983.com/

UMMMMM  ...  I wouldnt call it an upgrade, ...  LOL  Most of the oldies stations in my area have changed format and now play a lot of 70s stuff. WWSW(3WS) 94.5 in Pittsburgh, PA. did about a year or so ago. They still play 50s stuff on Sunday nights. Fourtunately though WLSW 103.9  plays the old DooWop stuff ALL weekend starting Friday night until Monday morning. I also recently found an AM station located at 770 that plays the 50s early 60s all the time.

NozmoKing

I remember 101.1! :)


Yes our oldies station KFRC has pretty much abandoned doo-wop and motown in favor of 70's & 80's.  I emailed them a complaint just after they changed it.

That same frequency in Los Angeles is the dial spot of L.A.'s oldies station, KRTH (pronounced K-Earth), which like I said earlier, seems to be playing a bunch of post-1969 music (mostly 70's, including some early songs from the disco era). They still have some of the older stuff, but maybe they just wanted to expand their playlist. Still, there are some great 50's and 60's songs which I don't think I've ever heard them play (but have heard on other 'oldies' stations).

Sadly I come from the land where the legendary 101.1 CBS-FM went off the air and they put Jack-FM in its place.
I miss that station sooo much..
luckily I found "the breeze" out of New Jersey. Plays great hits from the 70s..their promo says "it's like someone took your record collection and put it on the radio" and they are RIGHT!!


KKay, if you are in North Jersey go to WMTR 1250 AM, it's like turning back the clock to the old AM Rock stations of the 60's or anyone in the world on their Computers can go to WMTRAM.com and tune in...it's a great station, try it you'll like it.

HW 

There is a high school station in my area that plays 50's and 60's music from 12:00-3:00 Eastern during the week and from midnight to 6:00 a.m. Eastern on the weekends. You can listen here: www.cpschools.com Just click on "WFOS Live Radio."

Here in Cleveland we have "Majik 105.7" for the oldies.

When I first moved to Cleveland several yrs ago, they played 50's,60's and 70's.

Now they play mostly 60's and 70's....

They have a show on sunday night called the "sunday night jukebox" where they only play songs from the 50'2 and early 60's.
but it stinks that u have to wait that long to hear that stuff...and most people arent listening on sunday nights anyways....

I almost never hear ANY 50's songs on the radio anymore. In the earlier '90s I did, but maybe they're deemed irrelevant after 40 years. :(

That would (sadly) stand to reason, because I think the furthest back they'll go is the Beatles. They sort of ushered in the "60s" '60s, and I've never heard any songs before 1964 in recent years.

On the other end of the rope, I do feel very old when Huey Lewis, Lionel Richie and solo John Fogerty (i.e. from the '80s) are considered "oldies". ;)
That really sucks.Even at McDonakds you can hear Bye Bye Love by the Everly Brothers and Wear My Ring by Elvis!!!

Here in Cleveland we have "Majik 105.7" for the oldies.

When I first moved to Cleveland several yrs ago, they played 50's,60's and 70's.

Now they play mostly 60's and 70's....

They have a show on sunday night called the "sunday night jukebox" where they only play songs from the 50'2 and early 60's.
but it stinks that u have to wait that long to hear that stuff...and most people arent listening on sunday nights anyways....


You're from Cleveland! Cleveland, where the "Hollowed Grounds" of the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" resides. Do you know how fortunate you are to be able to go the that Holy Shrine of Rock and Roll music any time you want to. Cleveland is the coolest city in America, I mean it! I really liked it there. A few months ago I made my first visit to Cleveland to see the Hall and it was as great as I expected it would be, I wasn't disappionted one bit in the day I spent there, the city, the people, that whole area on the banks of the lake was beautiful, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was the "Crown Jewel" of it all. Everyone should get to go there once in their lifetime if Rock and Roll music and it's movement was an influence on their life growing up.

Do you go often to the Hall? tell me you do, tell me you go like you go religiously to your place of Worship! I'd go every week and pay homage to the Lords that made Rock and Roll music a major part of our lives today.

Hot Wax

On the other end of the rope, I do feel very old when Huey Lewis, Lionel Richie and solo John Fogerty (i.e. from the '80s) are considered "oldies". ;)

I am so in agreement with that! I do find it odd for music from that era (80's) to be construed as "oldies"; I think of oldies as pre-1970 pop/rock/r&b music. Which is exactly what the Music Choice channel "Solid Gold Oldies" plays. Occasionally they'll play a song from 1970 or '71...but nothing later.

I've spent my entire professional life in radio, so maybe I can clear the air here.

Programmers have been pulling pre-1964 songs from oldies playlists for the last five or six years. Many in the industry have said that move was long overdue, seeing as how the typical oldies format hasn't changed much in the last twenty years or so. To tell the truth, it's a matter of money; with oldies formats stuck in neutral for the last decade or more, advertisers have gloomily watched as listener demographics have gotten close to that dreaded "over-55" category. Why? Advertisers aren't looking for older customers, because they supposedly don't change buying habits, so the radio format has had to play catch up to grab the somewhat younger listeners. Hence, the coming of "Saturday Night Fever"-era Bee Gees, The Eagles, and Bachman-Turner Overdrive. The same kind of thinking killed many "big band"-type music formats several years ago, so it's not a new thing. It's not a matter of whether a format has an audience...it's a matter of whether that audience is big enough for a station to generate revenue. It's that simple.

I dread the day when The Beatles will no longer have a place on the radio.   

We only have one oldies station in our local area (which is AM  >:(), and it plays exclusively 60s and 70s music (don't know if it ever played 50s music). Well, that's sort of not strictly true. They play well-known hits by artists like Elvis, Chuck Berry.etc. But on the whole, 60s and 70s is the name of the game. There's another 'semi-oldies' station, that plays over an equal mix of 80s, 90s, 00s, with a few 70s classic rock songs, and very well known 60s bands (like the Beatles, Bee Gees, Hendrix).

I usually stick to my mp3 collection or internet radio stations (which include real stations). If only I could get them in my car.

I've spent my entire professional life in radio, so maybe I can clear the air here.

Programmers have been pulling pre-1964 songs from oldies playlists for the last five or six years. Many in the industry have said that move was long overdue, seeing as how the typical oldies format hasn't changed much in the last twenty years or so. To tell the truth, it's a matter of money; with oldies formats stuck in neutral for the last decade or more, advertisers have gloomily watched as listener demographics have gotten close to that dreaded "over-55" category. Why? Advertisers aren't looking for older customers, because they supposedly don't change buying habits, so the radio format has had to play catch up to grab the somewhat younger listeners. Hence, the coming of "Saturday Night Fever"-era Bee Gees, The Eagles, and Bachman-Turner Overdrive. The same kind of thinking killed many "big band"-type music formats several years ago, so it's not a new thing. It's not a matter of whether a format has an audience...it's a matter of whether that audience is big enough for a station to generate revenue. It's that simple.

I dread the day when The Beatles will no longer have a place on the radio.    


Interesting. While it's not pleasant to think about, that makes alot of sense.

Were there "big band"/swing/'30s and '40s music stations around in, say 1975 or 1980 which started disappearing when the teenagers of that era got over 55? I guess it would stand to reason that pre-1964 songs would start fading away now (anything before then, really sounds like "oldies" to me).

However, I would think there's enough demand in certain music no matter what, that it wouldn't just disappear. The Beatles have enough fans and still sell enough records to keep them on the air (even after the 15 year olds of 1968 turn 55 in 2008), don't they?

I shudder to think what radio will be like in, say the year 2040.

I've spent my entire professional life in radio, so maybe I can clear the air here.

Programmers have been pulling pre-1964 songs from oldies playlists for the last five or six years. Many in the industry have said that move was long overdue, seeing as how the typical oldies format hasn't changed much in the last twenty years or so. To tell the truth, it's a matter of money; with oldies formats stuck in neutral for the last decade or more, advertisers have gloomily watched as listener demographics have gotten close to that dreaded "over-55" category. Why? Advertisers aren't looking for older customers, because they supposedly don't change buying habits, so the radio format has had to play catch up to grab the somewhat younger listeners. Hence, the coming of "Saturday Night Fever"-era Bee Gees, The Eagles, and Bachman-Turner Overdrive. The same kind of thinking killed many "big band"-type music formats several years ago, so it's not a new thing. It's not a matter of whether a format has an audience...it's a matter of whether that audience is big enough for a station to generate revenue. It's that simple.

I dread the day when The Beatles will no longer have a place on the radio.     

It does make some sense. My mom also worked in radio, but only until I was born.

At least some of us (including me) still have Music Choice, where we can listen to the older music. ("Solid Gold Oldies" for the 1950-69 pop/rock, and "Singers And Standards" for some of the older popular music.)

Were there "big band"/swing/'30s and '40s music stations around in, say 1975 or 1980 which started disappearing when the teenagers of that era got over 55? I guess it would stand to reason that pre-1964 songs would start fading away now (anything before then, really sounds like "oldies" to me).


It's just my opinion, but I believe oldies programmers' reluctance to rock the boat when it came time to tweak the format has hurt growth opportunities. As a result, the typical listener's perception of what constitutes "oldies" radio has been stuck in the same spot for a long time, leaving little room for real change. Niow some boomers are crying fowl when pre-1964 tracks are cut from the oldies station's playlist, saying The Eagles are not a "real oldies" group. I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. Big band formats are long gone, with adult standards not far behind.



However, I would think there's enough demand in certain music no matter what, that it wouldn't just disappear. The Beatles have enough fans and still sell enough records to keep them on the air (even after the 15 year olds of 1968 turn 55 in 2008), don't they?


Radio types have argued this logic for a long time, and probably will continue to do so 'til kingdom come. Just for giggles, let's take a hypothetical 15-year old male that happens to like Frank Sinatra and Benny Goodman records. He listens to the local adult standards station because they play the music he digs. What's the problem, you ask? He's not the typical adult standards listener. In other words, there may be a thousand similar teenagers within said station's signal, but their numbers are dwarfed by the retirees that are more likely to tune in. It works both ways, of course; you wouldn't expect your average grandmother to listen with any frequency to the Top 40/CHR station, would you? There are exceptions to every rule, naturally, but radio generally doesn't program with the exception in mind. That's been my experience, at any rate. 

The Beatles are probably an exception to the aforementioned rule. Their music has managed to cut across generational boundaries that blocked many other groups from having the same long-term success. It may be the result of aggressive marketing on the part of music publishers and the sheer size of the boomer generation. It may be just the quality and volume of music the Fab Four released during their tenure at the top. I don't know. I like the Beatles, too, but I don't know if my kids will feel the same way. It could be that they'll eventually be phased out of whatever version of the oldies or "classic hits" format is on the airwaves twenty years from now. 

I actually don't listen to the radio that much in general...not oldies radio that is. Only new stations to check out new talent. I find, maybe 6/10, I'll have the song they're playing in my MP3 collection anyway. And I can pick and choose...I've got 4,400 songs, and I probably haven't listened to half of them...

Two of our major stations 101.9 (based in Sacramento) and the old timer 99.7 KFRC (based in San Francisco) have both switched to focusing on 70's/80's and even dabbling into the 90's on their hits. They don't really call themselves "oldies" stations anymore. It's strange as I always identified KFRC as an oldies station, yet never quite my favorite oldies station. I would have to say that 101.9 is the better of the two as it has more varied plays, as KFRC, I swear has played Cliff Richard's "Devil Woman" like 4 times in just two days! Come on, there are better songs that THAT to keep playing over and over.. lol

Anyway, we have only one really genuine oldies station that barely comes through because I think it's based in Stockton or Modesto. I guess I'm gonna have to go AM now, too. Listen to some KLove, lol.

Two of our major stations 101.9 (based in Sacramento) and the old timer 99.7 KFRC (based in San Francisco) have both switched to focusing on 70's/80's and even dabbling into the 90's on their hits. They don't really call themselves "oldies" stations anymore. It's strange as I always identified KFRC as an oldies station, yet never quite my favorite oldies station. I would have to say that 101.9 is the better of the two as it has more varied plays, as KFRC, I swear has played Cliff Richard's "Devil Woman" like 4 times in just two days! Come on, there are better songs that THAT to keep playing over and over.. lol

Anyway, we have only one really genuine oldies station that barely comes through because I think it's based in Stockton or Modesto. I guess I'm gonna have to go AM now, too. Listen to some KLove, lol.
hey Krissy, I too noticed the change with KFRC and that station has been playing oldies for quite a while now, and they're trying to reach a different demographic, just like I notice 107.7 the bone, which was primarily 70's classic rock, started playing more and more 90's, 00's music. I'm going back to my record player

hey Krissy, I too noticed the change with KFRC and that station has been playing oldies for quite a while now, and they're trying to reach a different demographic, just like I notice 107.7 the bone, which was primarily 70's classic rock, started playing more and more 90's, 00's music. I'm going back to my record player


I agree about the Bone, too. They also have a station called 104.1 the Eagle, I believe. Both are near copies of the other, but both have changed to more 90's, 00's and other misc. harder rock. It really dissappointed me because I use to listen to these stations because of the 70's music they offered because KFRC and the other oldie's stations dwelled too far in the 50's/60's at the time, so 104.1 and 107.7 were my 70's fix - now KFRC is my 70's fix - kinda strange how things change...

I think some play EIGHTIES music ....  :o

I think some play EIGHTIES music ....  :o

We have one station devoted to 80's and one that semi-devotes itself to the 80's and a few 90's sprinkled in.

We have one station devoted to 80's and one that semi-devotes itself to the 80's and a few 90's sprinkled in.


Your oldies station isn't a pre-1990 format tho, is it?

Your oldies station isn't a pre-1990 format tho, is it?


Well, they have ALL 80's songs (really, nothing but 80's) but I'm not sure if that's what you're asking. The format is modern, as far as the way they broadcast, but the atmosphere and music is 100% 80's.

Well, they have ALL 80's songs (really, nothing but 80's) but I'm not sure if that's what you're asking. The format is modern, as far as the way they broadcast, but the atmosphere and music is 100% 80's.


ahh.  i meant does oldies just lump in everything pre-1990 as "oldies" and play it, like from any time before 1990. 

Here the station that used to play "Golden oldies" type of music(1950s and early 60s) has switched to playing stuff from the mid 60s to the late 70s, and the station that used to play music from the mid 60s to late 70s has now switched over to playing stuff from about 1976 to 1995. Infact the latter plays Aerosmith, Boston, Queen, Van Halen, and Led Zeppelin WAY too much.  It seems like half the time they're playing one of those bands.

Here the station that used to play "Golden oldies" type of music(1950s and early 60s) has switched to playing stuff from the mid 60s to the late 70s, and the station that used to play music from the mid 60s to late 70s has now switched over to playing stuff from about 1976 to 1995. Infact the latter plays Aerosmith, Boston, Queen, Van Halen, and Led Zeppelin WAY too much.  It seems like half the time they're playing one of those bands.


So as I understand it, oldies/newies is more or less like this:

pre-1950: Grandpa music
1950-1963: Solid gold oldies
1964-1981: Classic rock era
1982-1991: '80s music
1992-2001: newies
2002-2006: current hits

Here the station that used to play "Golden oldies" type of music(1950s and early 60s) has switched to playing stuff from the mid 60s to the late 70s, and the station that used to play music from the mid 60s to late 70s has now switched over to playing stuff from about 1976 to 1995. Infact the latter plays Aerosmith, Boston, Queen, Van Halen, and Led Zeppelin WAY too much.  It seems like half the time they're playing one of those bands.


As I said, one of the reasons I stopped listening to those stations is because they seem to rotate the same few well-known songs around. Of the songs I hear on the oldies station, I probably have half of them in mp3. And I only have 4,500 songs; they probably have many times that in their library.

So as I understand it, oldies/newies is more or less like this:

pre-1950: Grandpa music
1950-1963: Solid gold oldies
1964-1981: Classic rock era
1982-1991: '80s music
1992-2001: newies
2002-2006: current hits


I think you classified them well. And to answer your question - No, this particuliar station is complete 80's starting from 1980 to 1989, maybe even adding some 1979 stuff. A great station that I can only get while driving in certain parts of town.

I think you classified them well. And to answer your question - No, this particuliar station is complete 80's starting from 1980 to 1989, maybe even adding some 1979 stuff. A great station that I can only get while driving in certain parts of town.


That's pretty cool.  A lot of 1979 songs are really '80s songs in everything except date, such as "Pop Muzik" by M or "Cars" by Gary Numan.

Two of our major stations 101.9 (based in Sacramento) and the old timer 99.7 KFRC (based in San Francisco) have both switched to focusing on 70's/80's and even dabbling into the 90's on their hits. They don't really call themselves "oldies" stations anymore. It's strange as I always identified KFRC as an oldies station, yet never quite my favorite oldies station. I would have to say that 101.9 is the better of the two as it has more varied plays, as KFRC, I swear has played Cliff Richard's "Devil Woman" like 4 times in just two days! Come on, there are better songs that THAT to keep playing over and over.. lol

Anyway, we have only one really genuine oldies station that barely comes through because I think it's based in Stockton or Modesto. I guess I'm gonna have to go AM now, too. Listen to some KLove, lol.


Oh yeah, I was almost freaked out when I started hearing songs like The Doobie Brothers' "What a Fool Believes", John Cougar's "Jack and Diane" and Lionel Richie's "All Night Long" on KFRC recently. But I noticed they no longer bill themselves as oldies, so that's at least a little comforting, lol.

I remember that Sacramento station when I lived there (1990-96). I thought it was "Cool 101.1" but I could be mistaken. ;) Anyway, at the time, I do remember it being very oldies. They did alot of pre-1964 music, as well as the Beatles and maybe dabbled in classic rock. I believe they stopped after 1972 or so, if that.

P.S. I'm also a little peeved that The Bone does '90s/00s rock, or heavy metal, in addition to the "hard classic rock" from 1967-91 or so that they used to stick with. I guess they kinda merged with KSJO's format when that station died a year or two ago.

Oh yeah, I was almost freaked out when I started hearing songs like The Doobie Brothers' "What a Fool Believes", John Cougar's "Jack and Diane" and Lionel Richie's "All Night Long" on KFRC recently. But I noticed they no longer bill themselves as oldies, so that's at least a little comforting, lol.

I remember that Sacramento station when I lived there (1990-96). I thought it was "Cool 101.1" but I could be mistaken. ;) Anyway, at the time, I do remember it being very oldies. They did alot of pre-1964 music, as well as the Beatles and maybe dabbled in classic rock. I believe they stopped after 1972 or so, if that.

P.S. I'm also a little peeved that The Bone does '90s/00s rock, or heavy metal, in addition to the "hard classic rock" from 1967-91 or so that they used to stick with. I guess they kinda merged with KSJO's format when that station died a year or two ago.


Yeah, all of the sudden KFRC turned over to mostly 70s/80s/90s and then all of the sudden 101.9 turned over almost the exact same time. There use to be a 101.1, and that station died about 4 years ago. Never saw it happening as they seemed rather strong, but then I started flipping the dial for another station besides KFRC because I didn't like all the d*mn commercials they played, and came across to 101.9 and was pleased with their format - well, now that's all over because it's become a somewhat more modern music station. I'm still much happier with them as their selections are fairly more obscure and interesting, as KFRC's are more generic.

The Bone and the Eagle both have become stations that play more modern rock/alternative, but it seems that 107.7 may be a bit better by playing more "classic" stuff. I don't know, I'll have to evaluate that one of these days and see who's better with there song selections.

^ Yeah, I also listened to the Eagle when I lived up there (it was 96.9 at the time). Too bad that seems to have gone under as well.

Even though I had increasingly been disliking KSJO (too much modern rock/metal, and the DJs were kinda nasty sometimes, even if they were funny) I wish it hadn't been pulled. I'm sure they had a large audience. Same with 101.9.

It's kind of sad, but I guess listeners of pre-rock music (e.g. pre- early 60s) are dying out...

It's kind of sad, but I guess listeners of pre-rock music (e.g. pre- early 60s) are dying out...

Sure is :\'( :\'( :\'(

At least KVEN (AM 1450), a station based in Ventura (WNW of Los Angeles) still plays music from that era.

I don't think there are any stations in the L.A. area that currently play a great deal of 70s pop (although they might have done so during the 80s and into the early 90s)...which is why I don't know a great deal of it, and can't do well on Penguin Quizzes when some of the "easy" songs are taken! :(

So as I understand it, oldies/newies is more or less like this:

pre-1950: Grandpa music
1950-1963: Solid gold oldies
1964-1981: Classic rock era
1982-1991: '80s music
1992-2001: newies
2002-2006: current hits


If that's true, then what, may I ask, are songs like The Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody" and The Gentrys' "Keep on Dancing" doing in 1965, for instance?

If that's true, then what, may I ask, are songs like The Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody" and The Gentrys' "Keep on Dancing" doing in 1965, for instance?

Perhaps there were some places where the "eras" overlapped. :-\\